Abbey Cheek and Katie Reed Taken by Bandits in 2019 NPF Draft
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Both Abbey Cheek and Katie Reed of the Kentucky Softball team saw their dreams come to fruition on Monday night, as they were drafted to play professional softball. In Monday’s National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Draft, Cheek was selected No. 14 overall and Reed was selected No. 19 with both players selected by the Chicago Bandits.
“I want to thank the Chicago Bandits for offering Katie and Abbey both chances to continue their careers at the highest level.” head coach Rachel Lawson said. “Both Katie and Abbey are two of our very best players and people – and it’s great to see that all of their hard work at Kentucky has paid off.”
The head coach of the Bandits is Lauren Lappin, with Stacey Nuevman-Denis serving as the assistant. Tony Calmeyn is the general manager of the team based out of Piedmont, Illinois.
Abbey Cheek – 14th overall – Chicago Bandits
- Leading the SEC with a .482 batting average
- Kentucky’s all-time home run leader
- Second in the nation in on-base percentage, fifth in batting average and third in slugging percentage this season
- SEC Academic Honor Roll member for three seasons
- Two-time SEC Player of the Week
Katie Reed – 19th overall – Chicago Bandits
- 2018 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
- 2017 NFCA All-American
- 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team
- 2017 First Team All-SEC
- 2018 Second Team All-SEC
For the latest on UK Softball, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKSoftball.
